Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE): Higher Education Programs (HEP): Institutional Service - Alaska Native-Serving Institutions Program (Part A), Assistance Listing Number (ALN) 84.031N | ED GRANTS 022724 001

Opportunity Information: Apply for ED GRANTS 022724 001

The Alaska Native-Serving Institutions Program (Part A), Assistance Listing Number (ALN) 84.031N, is a discretionary grant opportunity from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE), under the Higher Education Programs (HEP) umbrella. It is authorized by Title III, Part A of the Higher Education Act (HEA) and is designed to help eligible institutions of higher education (IHEs build stronger institutional capacity specifically to better serve Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian students. In practical terms, the program is meant to fund institutional strengthening work, meaning campuses can use the money to plan, develop, or implement improvements that expand what the institution can do for these student populations and improve the overall quality and effectiveness of services and supports.

The basic purpose is capacity-building rather than student financial aid. The notice emphasizes that grantees may use funds for activities that strengthen the institution, which commonly includes things like academic support systems, student services, retention and completion initiatives, faculty or staff development tied to student success, improvements to instructional quality, and administrative or operational enhancements that make the institution more effective in serving Alaska Native or Native Hawaiian undergraduates. The details of allowable activities, performance measures, and any specific priorities are not fully spelled out in the synopsis and must be confirmed in the official Federal Register application notice, which is treated as the controlling document for requirements and selection criteria.

Eligibility is tightly defined and applicants must be able to certify eligibility at the time they submit the application. To qualify as an Alaska Native-serving institution, the institution must have an undergraduate enrollment that is at least 20 percent Alaska Native students. To qualify as a Native Hawaiian-serving institution, the institution must have an undergraduate enrollment that is at least 10 percent Native Hawaiian students. The application package includes an assurance form that must be signed by an authorized institutional official and submitted with the application, and that certification is central to eligibility.

Beyond the enrollment thresholds, the institution must also meet standard Title III institutional eligibility requirements. The institution must be accredited or preaccredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency or association that the Secretary recognizes as a reliable authority on educational quality. It must also be legally authorized by the state where it is located to operate as a junior or community college or to offer an educational program that awards a bachelors degree. In addition, the institution must demonstrate that it enrolls "needy students" as defined in federal regulations (34 CFR 607.3) and that it has low average educational and general expenditures per full-time-equivalent undergraduate student under the definition in 34 CFR 607.4. These requirements are meant to ensure Title III funds go to institutions serving high-need populations with comparatively limited resources.

The program also includes important restrictions and coordination rules with other federal institutional aid programs, especially the Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) Program under Title V of the HEA. If an institution is already a grantee under the HSI program, it cannot simultaneously receive a grant under any Title III, Part A program, including this ANNH competition. The synopsis also clarifies that institutions already holding a Title III, Part A or Title V award generally cannot surrender that grant just to pursue an ANNH grant, consistent with the one-grant limitation described in 34 CFR 607.2(g)(1). An institution that is not currently funded under the listed Title III, Part A programs (such as Strengthening Institutions, Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities, AANAPISI, Predominantly Black Institutions, and Native American-Serving Nontribal Institutions) may apply to multiple programs for which it is eligible, and may also seek consideration under HSI; however, if selected, it may ultimately receive only one award under those competing authorities.

This competition structure also references two ways institutions may apply: Individual Development Grants and Cooperative Arrangement Development Grants. The synopsis notes that an eligible IHE may submit applications for both types in the same competition year and could potentially be awarded both in the same fiscal year. At the same time, there are guardrails for cooperative arrangement awards: the Department will not award a second Cooperative Arrangement Development Grant to the same eligible institution as the lead institution in a year when it already holds a cooperative arrangement award as the lead under the ANNH program. Institutions that already have an individual or cooperative grant may still participate as partners in one or more cooperative arrangements. For cooperative arrangements, the lead institution must be eligible under ANNH rules, but partner organizations are not required to be eligible IHEs, which can make it easier to build consortia that include other colleges, nonprofits, or other entities that contribute expertise or services.

From the funding and administrative side, this is a grant (not a contract) and it is categorized as discretionary funding within the Education funding activity category. The opportunity was posted with a creation date of February 27, 2024, and the original closing date listed is April 29, 2024. The award ceiling is listed as $1,000,000, and the Department projected approximately 18 awards. Eligible applicants include public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, and other entities, but in practice the applicant must still meet the specific statutory and regulatory definition of an eligible institution under Title III, Part A and the ANNH enrollment and eligibility rules described above.

Finally, the synopsis repeatedly stresses that the short description is not a substitute for the official Federal Register notice. Applicants are expected to rely on the Federal Register publication for the complete rules on pre-application and application requirements, submission instructions, performance reporting measures, competitive priorities, and program contact information. It also points applicants to the Department of Education Revised Common Instructions for Applicants to Department of Education Discretionary Grant Programs (published December 7, 2022) for standardized guidance on how and where to obtain and submit applications.

• The Department of Education in the education sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE): Higher Education Programs (HEP): Institutional Service - Alaska Native-Serving Institutions Program (Part A), Assistance Listing Number (ALN) 84.031N" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 84.031.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-02-27.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-04-29. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $1,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 18 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, Others.

Apply for ED GRANTS 022724 001

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